Quotable: “It has been a pretty exciting weekend thus far. We are qualified well; Rob and the Kalitta Air guys are doing a good job. It looks like we are on the good side of the ladder, so I am ready for tomorrow.”

Quotable: “A tough qualifying weekend for the Mac Tools team, but we made a good pass in the final qualifying pass to move up the ladder a little bit. We have a tough draw in the first round, but we will be ready.”

Quotable: “We had a great car in qualifying. We made three runs down the track in this Global Electronic Technology Camry, with two in the 4.0 second range. I messed up on that last run and got the car out of the groove. Part of being a rookie. We still have lane choice in round one and have some information from that run that we can use. I feel good about tomorrow.”

Quotable: “We definitely struggled thus far in Denver. Hopefully we can get it figured out before first round tomorrow because we have a tough opponent, but I have faith in my DHL guys that we can get the job done.”

Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with six world championships and over 100 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.

Team Kalitta fields four full-time entries in the NHRA Mello Yello nitro classes. Connie Kalitta’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, pilots the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster while former Rookie of the Year winner Richie Crampton drives the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd is the driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car and Shawn Langdon pilots the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car. Connie Kalitta serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Todd Smith on the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, Nicky Boninfante and Kurt Elliott on the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car, Rob Flynn on the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster and Jim Oberhofer leads the efforts on the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster.